Reid My Mind
by SupervisorySpecial
Summary: When a difficult situation arises, sometimes the answer is action. Sometimes the answer is pain. After welcoming a new agent and being pulled into a difficult case, Dr. Spencer Reid - the man with all of the answers - realizes that sometimes there is no right answer at all.
1. Chapter 1

_**"On the corner of Main Street. Just tryin' to keep it in line..."**_

* * *

Everyone has their sanctuary. Some people go to church, others enjoy spending time in nature. Some people find solace in their local coffee shop. Cole Kingsley soon found out that nothing put Spencer Reid more at peace than a late-night visit to the local 24/7 diner down the road from his Washington apartment. He loved everything about the diner: the ivory cakes in the glass display case, the dreary lighting, the slow service, and even the bar that looked like it was straight out of The Shining.

For an insomniac like himself, the reliability of the diner was always so comforting. While the rest of the world slept, the diner was always there, like a good friend. For whatever reason, his mind found clarity in the wee hours of the morning, while the sun still hid behind the horizon. When he was there, he would be the most productive. He read better, thought better, and simply felt better, which was why he was sitting in his favorite booth at the particular moment that he and Cole happened to encounter each other for the first time that October night.

Cole had been having a very rough evening. She had received a call earlier that day informing her that she would, starting the next Monday, be joining one of the best teams the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the FBI employed. See, as a teenager Cole realized how sensitive she was. Not only as a person, but to the world around her. She could sense a change in someone's temperament almost immediately, and she was able to pick up on something about someone without having to be told. A curiosity to know how she could use this unique trait fueled hours of research, culminating in the conclusion that being a profiler would be a rewarding career for someone like her.

Despite her dream coming true, she was a nervous wreck. At 27, Cole was younger than most agents offered the opportunity. This made her anxiously await how hard she would have to prove herself, and so at 2:50 in the morning, she wanted nothing more than a delicious, steaming cup of coffee from that very same diner. The clearly over the hill waitress sat Cole and poured her a cup of coffee before sluggishly sauntering back to her spot behind the bar. Watching her walk away led Cole's eyes to the only other patron of the diner.

The man was handsome. Actually, he was almost... inhumanly handsome. He had wavy, chocolate brown hair and side-swept bangs that fell just over his eyes. He stood up to steal a case of sugar from the booth behind him, and Cole noticed that he wore quite the stylish purple button down under a black sweater and black slacks with mis-matched socks underneath them. She wondered if this was his work attire, or if he just cared that much about his appearance.

He noticed Cole watching him, so he awkwardly smiled then quickly averted his gaze. Cole, herself, was too afraid to look back in his direction, for fear of looking like an idiot, so she continued to stare out of the large window beside her.

"Would you like some more coffee, Miss?" A few moments later the waitress's raspy alto took her by surprise. She shook her head, sending the woman off. The moment she moved, Cole noticed that the man that was sitting two booths away, the man she'd spent a good ten minutes looking at, was gone.

She felt that it was time for her to go as well, since she had to arrive for her first day in mere hours. Five minutes of walking brought her back to her apartment, and she quickly fell asleep underneath her cold, white blankets. She didn't remember dreaming that night, but she genuinely thought that if she did, she dreamed about that man in the diner.

* * *

Morning came in, what seemed like, the blink of an eye. Without permission, Cole's eyelids opened, and she caught her first glimpse of sunlight. She reluctantly sat up, and the friendly exposed brick walls of her small loft apartment greeted her warmly. Her smile quickly faded after she extracted her phone from underneath her pillow and saw the time; 8:21 A.M. She was running late.

After hopping out of bed and carelessly grabbing whatever clothes she got a hold of first, Cole grabbed her messenger bag and rushed out of the door. The thirty mile drive to the headquarters of the BAU in Quantico, thankfully, took a little less time than usual, and when Cole walked in, it seemed as though no one even noticed her delay. She was immediately spotted by a tight-lipped, serious man dressed in a very nice black suit. "Nicole Kingsley?"

"Yes."

"SSA Aaron Hotchner. I'm your unit chief. We don't have a case at the moment, so you can find your desk and get settled in. The team members will be over to meet you shortly, I'm sure." His curt manner caught Cole off guard, but she recovered quickly and did as he said while he headed in the opposite direction.

Cole walked further into what was known as the 'bullpen' and noticed a desk that was almost empty except for the normal office supplies and a stack of books. The stack was made up of novels by Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, and Charles Bukowski, some of her favorite authors that she studied in her undergrad years and continued to adore after. Assuming this was to be her new desk, she took the liberty of sitting down and grabbing Bukowski's Factotum off the top of the pile.

"Excuse me... That's m-my book, and this is, um... This is also my desk." Cole looked up, and she recognized who spoke right away.

The man from the diner stood in front of her in another fashionable outfit; he stuck out to her against the corporate coldness of everyone else's looks. He had an almost haunting presence that Cole couldn't get past. Maybe it was the deep purple crescents around his eyes or the way the light from the overhead lamps made his flawless porcelain skin somewhat glow. Either way, she hadn't even formally met this man, and she was already intrigued. She felt that if he just sat down across from her, it would be enough for a little while. They didn't even have to talk. She just felt drawn to him, and she didn't know why. "I'm... sorry."

He eyed her. "Weren't you at the diner on the corner of Main Street this morning?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I was." He remembered her? "And now I'm in your seat."

Cole stood up and handed the book to him. When she did, their fingers brushed lightly. The man quickly pulled back and furrowed his brow slightly but then forced his face into a light smile; it didn't go unnoticed by Cole. "I go there a lot. It's nothing special at first glance, but it's kind of my place of refuge."

Cole nodded lightly and smiled. "I'm sorry I was sitting at your desk. It was so clean and organized; I figured it was for the new girl." She motioned to herself playfully and chuckled a bit.

"Oh, no. It's-It's fine. I, um, think that's your desk." One of his long fingers pointed to the desk directly across from his. Cole looked behind her, closed her eyes and sighed.

"Right, the even more empty one. Of course it is." The man smiled at her as she internally cursed herself. She shook her head, silently shaking off the embarrassment as well. "I'm Cole, by the way. Or, Supervisory Special Agent Nicole Kingsley."

He grinned at the nerdy delivery of her official title and name. "Doctor Spencer Reid."

Cole remembered the way he reacted when their fingers grazed each others, so she opted out of a handshake. She took a few steps backward and set her bag down before taking a seat. "Lovely to officially meet you, Spencer."

Cole smiled again before swiveling around to take in her new desk. Not even a moment later, two blondes approached her to introduce themselves: Jennifer Jareau, who preferred to be called JJ, and Penelope Garcia, whose eclectic outfit made Reid's seem much more professional. They were, not long after, joined by a tall and very muscular agent named Derek Morgan who couldn't turn off his flirtatious mannerisms for even a second while talking to her. That made JJ and Garcia giggle to themselves. Cole took it all light-heartedly, but she still didn't feel a hundred percent comfortable around them. Even with all of those people around, she still felt a bit lonely.

It was the frequent glances from Reid that really put her at ease. In the end, it's the glances and the grazes that change people in ways only they can see. The eyes that lock across crowded rooms, the wordless sighs that stop the shaking and calm the stormy seas. Cole was right from the start: He only had to sit across from her, and things would be alright for a while.

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 _||| A/N: My first fanfic on this site. Please review and/or message me to let me know what you think! |||_


	2. Chapter 2

_**"You say you want to move on, and you say I'm falling behind. Can you read my mind?"**_

* * *

The first time Spencer met Cole his stomach was lifted into his throat by about a thousand butterflies, and when their fingers grazed he nearly lost it. She was beautiful; just past her clavicle fell dark red locks that, at their roots, were dark brown. The two colors together matched her russet, almond shaped eyes that, paired with her olive skin, made her ethnically ambiguous. Her effortless style made her appear the same as some chic young celebrity out prancing through the city, and though Spencer had spent his fair share of time with a beautiful young celebrity, he was still his same, awkward self.

He watched her as she met the rest of the team. She smiled at all of them like they were holding cameras, big and bright but seemingly a tad forced. If a scientist cut her open, she would have twenty-seven rings inside of her thin frame, but she didn't look a day over twenty when she smiled with her teeth. Spencer liked that she looked so young and carefree, and her teeth reminded him of the white candy stick in a pack of Fun Dip.

When Rossi arrived to meet her was when everyone finally got a glimpse of real enthusiasm from Cole. "You must be Agent Kingsley. Lovely to meet you. I'm—"

"David Rossi, I know. I'm a big fan," Cole greeted warmly, vigorously shaking his hand. Spencer wondered why she hadn't tried to shake his.

"Oh?"

"Yes, Sir! During undergrad I double majored in Criminology and Literature, and there was a particular specialized class combining the two. We spent an entire unit on your books," she explained, allowing a genuine smile to remain on her face.

Rossi shook his head, not embarrassed but incredulous. "I can't believe anyone would base an entire lesson plan around anything I wrote."

Hotch breezed through the room before Cole could respond. "Team, meet me in the conference room ASAP. We have a new case." The team filed in after him and took their seats at the large, round table. As Garcia handed each member an iPad, Aaron continued. "I trust everyone has had time to meet our newest member, Agent Kingsley."

Everyone smiled at her, and she nodded in acknowledgement. Hotch handed the floor to Garcia and took his own seat. "Okay, my loves. This one's definitely interesting. Two months ago twenty-one year old Melanie Patrick was found on a bench at Lake Anna. This morning twenty-two year old Caroline Black was found on the same bench." Garcia flashed a photo of both girls on the screen. Blonde hair, blue eyed all-American girls.

"Why did they bring this case to us? Other than the fact that they look alike and were found in the same location, it doesn't seem to indicate a serial. They were two months apart, and location isn't everything," Morgan stated.

"Normally I would agree, sweetness, but this is what makes it interesting." Garcia pointed the remote over her shoulder, to the large television behind her. Another photo of each girl appeared, and the resemblance was eerily uncanny. Both women were placed in the exact same way on the bench: sitting all the way to the left, their hands placed in their laps, their right ankle locked behind their left and their heads leaning on their right shoulders. Eyes wide open in a peaceful manner.

Hotch leaned forward. "Okay, so he staged both bodies in the exact same way. Do we know the time of death?"

"Coroner says the cause of death for both was asphyxiation around eleven o'clock at night, and the bodies weren't discovered until rangers patrolled the lake at dawn," Garcia told them.

"So he had enough time with them and access to the lake to be able to pull this off twice. How can that be possible?" JJ inquired.

"He could own or be renting a house; there are more than one hundred and twenty subdivisions surrounding Lake Anna, including rentals. I own a home there, in fact," Rossi offered.

Spencer chimed in. "That's a lot of ground to cover, though. Public land covers over ninety-six hundred acres. Not to mention the thirty-four hundred acres of private land on the other side of the lake. It would most likely take a while to figure out the exact location."

"Is there anything else the girls had in common?" Cole questioned.

Penelope flicked the remote toward the television again. "Indeed there is, newbie. Both girls were attending Georgetown University, majoring in Literature."

"Let's start from there. JJ and I will go to Georgetown to see what we can find out about the girls' schedules. Morgan, Rossi, Reid. You guys take Kingsley up to Lake Anna and try to find out some more information on real estate," Hotch ordered, wasting no time in turning off his iPad and heading out of the conference room. JJ quickly followed him, and the others slowly filed out.

When the group arrived at Lake Anna, Rossi took charge. "Reid, why don't you take Kingsley and inspect the dump site. Morgan and I will start at my real estate agent's office."

Reid nodded as Rossi and Morgan took off in the opposite direction. Cole began to walk toward where she knew the dump site was, Reid silently trailing behind her. He felt nervous watching her walk in front of him; she almost seemed to glide along the rough terrain of the woods around the lake. Reid almost felt guilty, feeling any sort of anything for a woman after Maeve. Even if it was the tiniest thing like wanting to know why she chose her majors or if those stunning russet-colored eyes were her mothers or fathers… Spencer still felt guilty.

"Reid?" He snapped out of the daydream he didn't realize he'd fallen into. "I asked if you're ready to move on from the environment and start on the body. Are you alright?"

"Yes. Yes, I'm sorry. Tell me what you think," Reid responded.

He watched her go through her analysis of not only the position of the body, but also the condition the body was left in. Her words barely entered Reid's mind, as he was more focused on the way she spoke with her hands. "Do you agree?"

"I'm sorry?" Reid realized she had asked him a question, but because he had been so distracted by her mannerisms and his continuing guilt, he didn't quite remember what it was.

"Doctor Reid, is there something going on with you? I feel as though you may be falling behind here," Cole stated, trying her best to sound professional instead of rude.

Reid ran his fingers through his hair. "No, I'm alright. I'm very sorry. I have a lot on my mind."

"I heard that something… significant happened to you recently. I'm sorry for your loss, but it's just you and me here. I need you to help me with this. I need to make sure I'm going about this the right way. It is my first case, after all," she reminded him.

Reid felt awful. He had, yet again, let his personal life creep into his professional life at a time where it wasn't necessary. "I think your analysis was spot on. You're doing a… nice job. So far. Don't worry."

Cole seemed to feel relieved at his approval; her shoulders sank down. "Thank you."

"And please, call me Spencer," he added. "Or Reid."

"I'll remember that." Cole watched him as he finally began to walk around the body. He had been in another world the entire time they were alone together, and she thought it was odd that he was just fine back at the office and in the car around the other agents. "I haven't been through anything like what you went through, but if it's too difficult for you to be around me for some reason, then we can speak with Agent Hotchner when we get back and get it handled."

"No, I'm fine. Honestly. But thank you for the concern and sensitivity." Reid answered quickly, not looking at her and not altering his tone of voice. Cole couldn't help but admire his strength. For a man so slim and gangly, he seemed to have it in spades. Although, his incredible hazel eyes held a lot of pain, and Cole wondered if she would ever see them clear and bright with joy. "Something feels oddly familiar about all of this."

Reid hunched down to take a closer look at the girl's eyes, and Cole took a few steps closer to the body again. She was right behind him, and her face was at the same height as his ear. When she leaned in Spencer could feel her slow breaths on him. Goosebumps raised all down his back, but he had already been called out twice by Cole, and he wasn't going to let it happen again. "Familiar?"

The warmth of that one word in his ear was almost too much to bear. He stood up straight, causing her to stumble back in surprise and trip over a branch on the ground. "Oh, my— Are you alright? I'm so sorry!"

"Spencer, can you do me a favor?" Cole questioned. Reid kneeled down by her side and held his hands out. He kept them in front of him, unsure if he could touch her. "Please stop apologizing to me."

She held one of her dainty hands out, and Reid noticed how long and thin her fingers were. Her hands were kind of like a miniature version of his own. He took it, and he suddenly felt the calming feeling of reassurance that things might be okay. He noticed her look over his shoulder, and her eyes winced. "What?"

They both looked at the body again. "I think I see it now. What you meant about a familiarity."

"It's her eyes. There's something about the expression," Reid said. "She doesn't look pained or scared. She looks…"

"Loving." Their voices rang out in unison, and Reid snapped his head toward her. Cole continued to stare at the girl's face, and he wondered how she could have known to say that word. It isn't an adjective normally used to describe a corpse, or even that expression. Someone else may have said caring or infatuated, so why did she say loving?

"Spencer, I know what this is. Call Hotch."

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 _||| A/N: Thank you to the two people that reviewed! It means a lot to me. This one is a tad longer than the last. A good set up. Again, please review and/or message me to let me know what you think! |||_


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